1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to a composition or system for use with post-construction materials, and more particularly relates to a composition or system providing corrosion and/or moisture resistance for post-construction reinforced and unreinforced concrete structures.
2. Description of Background Art
The cost of corrosion in materials is devastating with respect to human fatalities. From a financial perspective, the cost of corrosion is estimated to be over $300 billion each year in the United States. The problem of preventing corrosion remains a challenge confronting the construction and maintenance industries.
Commonly, structures are made of concrete materials. Because conventional concrete has very low tensile strength, common practice is to reinforce concrete with steel bars in applications where the concrete is subjected to substantial loads. In such an instance, the concrete has at least two functions. One such function is to protect the reinforcing steel bars against corrosion. Another prominent function is to improve resistance from shear and compressive stresses. As a general matter, the protective effect of hardened concrete against climatic and environmental conditions on reinforcing steels depends, for example, on the amount and type of cement, water/cement factor and concrete integrity. However, since concrete is also a permeable absorptive material, it often leads to undesirable intrusion of moisture and other substances, such as chloride, sulfate, and even carbon dioxide, all of which can lead to corrosion of the reinforcing steel. As the reinforcing steel corrodes, it expands, thus cracking the concrete, which in turn allows for more impurity invasion, e.g., water and chloride ingress, which in turn advances corrosion as the cycle builds. Moreover, as a result of various distresses, such as environmental conditions, including at least shear and compressive stresses, accumulated after some length of service, the concrete can eventually crack and fail. These processes often lead to premature deterioration and subsequent failure of concrete structures.
Efforts have been made to solve the premature deterioration of such structures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,752 to Jaklin describes the use of modified inorganic silicates, e.g. modified alkali silicates, as a concrete additive to prevent corrosion of steel structures or reinforcing steel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,450 to Katoot describes the use of a coating process to coat metal surfaces which are modified to an active moiety of metal hydroxide receptive to a fully cross-linked polymer of various thickness. Other processes that have been used have included precoating surfaces of metals used in the building and construction industry. However, such methods are generally costly, ineffective and inefficient/impractical.
Despite efforts to date, a need remains for corrosion-resistant treatments, materials and processes that are effective, efficient and reliable. For example, there is a need for a composition/system that may be used with post-construction materials to provide corrosion resistance and/or moisture resistance to reinforced and unreinforced hardened concrete that is effective, efficient and offers desirable cost/benefit properties.